Sea Bass Opener 6/23

[Chinacat]

So to keep with tradition I planned some vacation time from work around the sea bass opener tomorrow.
Every year me and my son make every attempt to hit the local reef as early in the morning as possible to cash in before there's a lot of pressure.
His last day of school was yesterday. Unfortunately the marine forecast for the ocean tomorrow is not in our favor for our 21' walkaround?

ANZ350-222230-
Moriches Inlet NY to Montauk Point NY out 20 nm-
543 AM EDT Tue Jun 22 2021

SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH WEDNESDAY MORNING


TODAY
SW winds around 10 kt, becoming W with gusts up to 20 kt
this afternoon. Seas around 5 ft. Slight chance of showers late
this morning. Slight chance of tstms late this morning and early
afternoon. Showers this afternoon with vsby 1 to 3 nm.

TONIGHT
NW winds 10 to 15 kt with gusts up to 20 kt. Seas 4 to
6 ft. Showers in the evening with vsby 1 to 3 nm.

WED
N winds 10 to 15 kt with gusts up to 20 kt, becoming W
5 to 10 kt in the afternoon. Seas 4 to 6 ft.

Looks like we will be hoping that forecast is wrong and be all in for Thursday

 

[longcast]

Hopefully wrong and the seas will flatten out!

 

[Capt Richie]

Im going Thursday Lite SE wind ..not going to spend to much time on BSB ,With three per man shouldn't take long to limit out..

 

[Chinacat]

Im going Thursday Lite SE wind ..not going to spend to much time on BSB ,With three per man shouldn't take long to limit out..

We really enjoy specifically targeting them to get some nice fished on the reef before the fleet moves in...
Yes, we limit out quick and then move on to fluke or something else

 

[captmike28]

Yes, tomorrow looks like it may be a bit rocky for you Mitch. Frankly, even though I will also fish the SB opener in the Sound, with the Wind vs. Tide in the morning it will be plenty sporty up there as well. And with the full moon on Thursday it will be a very narrow window to fish before the tide really rips on the ebb. Still, if Sea Bass holds on par with recent years it should not take long to catch 6 keepers for myself and a friend.

Thursday's forecast does look much better, so I wish you luck if you get out then. Personally I have another appointment Thurs am then have to go prep the boat in the afternoon for 3 straight days of charters starting Friday. Sure hope the Stripers, Sea Bass, and weather all cooperate!

 

[live bait]

I plan on fishing the opener out of Mattituck, & not really looking forward to the N/W against the flood tide in the morning, lets hope NOAA is wrong once again, but in our favor this time.
John

 

[captmike28]

I hope you are correct about NOAA being wrong, John.
Be safe and good luck tomorrow.
Mike

 

[Chinacat]

Well, the forecast this morning is better than it looked yesterday and last night!
I'm thinking to head out for this afternoon's rising tide when the wind should be considerable less and going full fledge tomorrow morning with the "crew".

Good luck to both of you- Mike and John!! Be safe

 

[Chinacat]

So by mid to late morning I got to second guessing myself for not heading out.
Wind didn't seem bad so I made the call I'm definitely heading out when the tide changes at the inlet.
My boy had other plans with band practice etc....
Left the dock just before 1 and when I got to mouth of inlet it wasn't that bad. Watched the sets coming in and the occasional white water boil, picked my line and timed it well and made it out. Once past the initial slop it was fine. A gentle 3-4' swell with calm surface on top.
It was the right call Ridiculous easy fishing

Early morning conditions looking perfect right now so we are all in for 1st light tomorrow

 

[captmike28]

Glad to hear you got a good trip in Mitch.
I posted my results in John, Live Bait, report. Strangely tough on Sea Bass but lights out on the Stripers!

 

[Chinacat]

Thursday was me and my son. Left dock at 5:20am. 1st 19” keeper in boat before 6 with reef to ourselves. We had fish up to 20”
Today was solo left dock at 12:30
Stopped at gas dock and fueled up
Hit reef found a new awesome piece. 3 fat keepers in less than half hour. 2 just over 18 and 1 20

Decided to head inside to bay and try for fluke. Got to inlet and was surfing in on the swells of the falling tide. Motor dropped way down. Thought it was due to accidentally pulling throttle down to low. Then it stalled out. Cranked and cranked. Nada. Just where I wanted to be. The slop of a falling tide with no power.
Hailed Sea Tow and they were there in 10 mins. Luckily the “sweep” was west to East and away from some ugly white water

The whole tow to port I was fuming thinking I got bad fuel. I checked filter on motor looked good. Drained the water separator. That looked good too
Talked to my go to mechanic and he had some thoughts. It appears the electronic fuel pump that sends fuel to the vst tank may be the culprit because I don’t hear the initial 5 second hum when I turn key on

I’m thankful I made it home safe of course but bumming that after such a promising start to the season I’m stuck at the dock now until at least sometime next week?

When life looks like easy street there’s danger at the door

 

[hartattack]

Nothing left to do but smile, smile, smile... Good luck with the repairs Mitch..

 

[Roccus7]

Thursday was me and my son. Left dock at 5:20am. 1st 19” keeper in boat before 6 with reef to ourselves. We had fish up to 20”
Today was solo left dock at 12:30
Stopped at gas dock and fueled up
Hit reef found a new awesome piece. 3 fat keepers in less than half hour. 2 just over 18 and 1 20

Decided to head inside to bay and try for fluke. Got to inlet and was surfing in on the swells of the falling tide. Motor dropped way down. Thought it was due to accidentally pulling throttle down to low. Then it stalled out. Cranked and cranked. Nada. Just where I wanted to be. The slop of a falling tide with no power.
Hailed Sea Tow and they were there in 10 mins. Luckily the “sweep” was west to East and away from some ugly white water

The whole tow to port I was fuming thinking I got bad fuel. I checked filter on motor looked good. Drained the water separator. That looked good too
Talked to my go to mechanic and he had some thoughts. It appears the electronic fuel pump that sends fuel to the vst tank may be the culprit because I don’t hear the initial 5 second hum when I turn key on

I’m thankful I made it home safe of course but bumming that after such a promising start to the season I’m stuck at the dock now until at least sometime next week?

When life looks like easy street there’s danger at the door

Ah boats, life's ultimate love/hate relationship. The "Tow Home Furious Rage" is something we all endure at one point or another. Getting towed home, a Boater's equivalent of the "Cone of Shame"...

Glad that there was damage nor injury.

 

[longcast]

Thursday was me and my son. Left dock at 5:20am. 1st 19” keeper in boat before 6 with reef to ourselves. We had fish up to 20”
Today was solo left dock at 12:30
Stopped at gas dock and fueled up
Hit reef found a new awesome piece. 3 fat keepers in less than half hour. 2 just over 18 and 1 20

Decided to head inside to bay and try for fluke. Got to inlet and was surfing in on the swells of the falling tide. Motor dropped way down. Thought it was due to accidentally pulling throttle down to low. Then it stalled out. Cranked and cranked. Nada. Just where I wanted to be. The slop of a falling tide with no power.
Hailed Sea Tow and they were there in 10 mins. Luckily the “sweep” was west to East and away from some ugly white water

The whole tow to port I was fuming thinking I got bad fuel. I checked filter on motor looked good. Drained the water separator. That looked good too
Talked to my go to mechanic and he had some thoughts. It appears the electronic fuel pump that sends fuel to the vst tank may be the culprit because I don’t hear the initial 5 second hum when I turn key on

I’m thankful I made it home safe of course but bumming that after such a promising start to the season I’m stuck at the dock now until at least sometime next week?

When life looks like easy street there’s danger at the door

Glad you made it back safely. Have been in a situation years ago where we were heading to white water. Luckily the engine finally fired back up.

 

[Chinacat]

Turned out to be the electronic fuel pump inside the canister that VST filter is mounted to
Can't wait to get back out and on the fish again...

 

[live bait]

Just saw this post, glad it's fixed, & didn't turn out a lot worse. Sea Tow can be a crap shoot, if they are not busy it's a quick response, if they are on another call, most times you are going to wait.
John

 

[Chinacat]

Just saw this post, glad it's fixed, & didn't turn out a lot worse. Sea Tow can be a crap shoot, if they are not busy it's a quick response, if they are on another call, most times you are going to wait.
John

The captain told me they had 2 boats working Shinnecock at the time. When they heard where I was they put other calls inside the bay on hold and prioritized me ??

 

[captmike28]

Wow, what a story, Mitch. Glad to hear you are safe and that Sea Tow had the good sense to prioritize your call due to the obviously dangerous situation.

I am jealous of your Sea Bass fishing so far. Good for you. Going to hit the Sound myself tomorrow as the tides should now be in my favor to make a good score.

 

[live bait]

The captain told me they had 2 boats working Shinnecock at the time. When they heard where I was they put other calls inside the bay on hold and prioritized me ??

Glad to see they take into account the location of the emergency......John

 

[Chinacat]

Finally had a small window of opportunity with a repaired motor, no commitments or obligations as a roadie for the band, and a decent weather window, so I took a quick trip out to give the motor a good run and hit the grounds. My new favorite piece is still holding fish. 3 drops to the bottom and three keepers to 20". Played around a bit for some experimenting and made it back to work for rest of the day...